Heddle frames



Oct. 20, 1959 J. J. KAUFMANN 2,909,199

HEDDLE FRAMES Filed out. 19, 1956 United Seres Parent O HEDDLEERANIES John J. Kaufmann, Jenkintown,.Pa., assignor to Steel Heddle Manufacturing Company,QPhladelphia, Pa., a `corporation of Pennsylvania i Application October 19, 11956, Serial No. 617;'105

`s Claims. (Cl. 13a- 92) provide, adjacent the top and bottom rails,fheddle supporting rods upon which `the heddles'used for shedding the warp are slidably mounted.

It is, of course, well known to those using devices of vthe kind to which this invention pertains, that the heddles must at all times be freely movable upon the supporting rods, as otherwise Warp streaks and other defects will occur in the cloth being woven.

However, as the heddle rods are supported at spaced intervals from end to end of theframe by brackets, commonly termed hooks, mounted in the top and bottom rails of the frame, it will be apparent that, if any distortion of the top and bottom rails occurs by reason of the strains imposed thereon in the shedding, or by reason of climatic changes, the heddles will be caused to bind upon their supporting rods with resultantdefects in the cloth. i Y

The principal object of the present invention is to provide improved means for bracing the top and bottom rails of the frame intermediate their ends, so that the heddle rods will at all times be maintained in proper parallelism, to the end that the heddles Will be freely movable and will not bind thereon.

A further object of th'e present invention is to provide a device of the character aforesaid, which will permit the distance between the top and bottom rails of the frame to be readily and easily adjusted when required, and this without necessitating the removal of the frame from the loom,

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the character aforesaid, which, while very eicient for its intended purpose may, however, be inexpensively constructed. i f

The nature *and characteristic features of the'present invention will bemor'e readily understood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, forming part hereof, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a heddle frame for looms with a device of the present invention forming a part thereof;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken approximately on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, enlarged;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view partly in elevation and partly in section of a portion of the arrangement shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a similar view of another portion thereof;

Fig. 5v is a top or plan view of a portion of the arrangement shown in Fig. 3; and

Fig. 6 is a plan View of a locking member constituting a portion of the device of the present invention.

It should, of course, be understood that the descrip- 2,909,199 I atented Oct. 20, 1959 ICC tion and drawing herein are illustrative merely, and that various modifications and changes may be made in the arrangement Vshown and described without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring to the drawing, in the particular embodiment of the invention therein shown, the heddle frame proper comprises top and bottom rails 10, usually made of wood, although the same may be extruded aluminum, or of other metallic alloys if desired.` Y

The ends of the top and bottom rails are connected by end struts 11, of any preferred construction,rwhich will provide a rigid connection between the ends of the top andbottom rails 10` to maintain the same at iixed distances apart. i

Extending from end to end in the heddle frame are the topv and bottom heddle supporting rods 12, upon which the heddles 13 are slidably mounted in the usual and customary manner. The heddle rods 12 vare supported from the top and bottom rails by means o f brackets 14, commonly called hooks, of any preferred type, and likewise, the ends of the heddle rods 12 are supported from the end strutsll--by suitable spring-like brackets 15, also of any preferred type.

The'stay rods or braces 20 o f the present invention are usually mounted midway the ends of the frame, although in some instances when the frames are of greater width, a plurality of such'stay rods or braces 20 may be employed at various locations in the width of the frame.

The ,rod 20 is threaded at its lower end, as at 21, in a member 22, secured on the inner edge ofthe lower rail by means of. wood screws 2 3. The upper end of the `rod 20 is also threaded for the mounting `thereon of a head piece 2 4, of rectangular or other non-circular outline in horizontal plan. The head piece 24 is secured to the threaded upper end portion 25 of the stay rod 20 -by means of a pin 26. The head piece 24 is normally seated in a recess 27 in a member 28, which is fastened by means of wood screws 29 to the upper outer edge of the top rail 10 of the frame. rlfhe recess 27 in the member 28 Vis of such dimension, in the direction of the width of the frame, as to be equal to or greater than the diagonal dimension of the headV piece 24 of the s tay rod 20, whereby the same may beV rotated inside said recess when desired.

Superposed on the member 28 is a locking member 30 shown in plan in Fig. 6 of the drawing. Said locking member 30 has, on its under side, a recess 31, inwhich the head piece 24 is normally positioned, whereby rotation ofthe stay rod 20 will be prevented when the member 30 is in the operative position.

The member 30 is secured in the locking position by means of wood screws V32., which pass through recesses 33, The recesses 33l are open at one side of the plate `member 30, whereby the locking member 30 may be convenientlyremoved if desired.

VThe u nder face of the locking member 30 is also'provided with recesses 314 complemental to the heads of the screws 29, which are provided for securing the member 28 on the upper outer edge of upper rail 10 of the heddle frame.

On the inner or lower edge of the top rail 10 a reinforcing fplate 35 is secured by means of wood screws 36. The stay rod 20 extends through `an aperture 37 in said plate 35 as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawing.

The foregoing arrangement is such that the head piece 24 of the stay rod 20 is normally locked against rotation, whereby the distance between the top and bottom rails of the frame, at the place where the stay rod is located, is maintained at a fixed amount notwithstanding any deformation which might tend to occur by reason of the stresses which occur when the frames are raised and lowered to form the successive sheds during the operation of the looms.

If, however, it should become necessary to make an adjustment, the same may be readily done by first Loosen- .ing the screws 32 suiiiciently to permitthe member 30 to be raised to clear the heads of the screws 29, whereupon the plate member 30 may be slid sidewise, so that the head piece of the stray rod will be disengaged from the recess 31 in the member 30, and the stay rod 20 may be rotated by the manual operation of the head piece 20, when the locking plate 30 is either raised sufficiently or entirely removed. In this manner the distance between the heddleV rods adjacent the location of the stay rod may be changed to restore the rails to their proper relative positions.

By the foregoing arrangement there is provided a novel, elicent and useful form of device for bracing loom harness frames intermediate their ends, whereby the required parallelism of the heddle supporting rods 12 may at all times be maintained to insure the proper functioning of the heddles, and to prevent the formation of warp streaks and other defects in the weave by reason of the heddles binding on the supporting rods.

I claim: i

1. In a heddle frame for looms comprising top and bottom rails, heddle supporting rods extending parallel to vsaid rails, heddles slidably mounted on said rods, and

`circular outline at the upper end of the stay rod,

a member carried by the top rail engaged by said head piece, and a member complemental to and normally engaging the head piece of the stay rod to hold said stay rod against undesired rotation.

2. In a heddle frame for looms comprising top and bottom rails, heddle supporting rods extending parallel to said rails, heddles slidably mounted on said rods, and

Vmeans for supporting said rods at fixed distances from the inner edges of the rails, the means for maintaining the parallelism of the heddle rods comprising a stay rod extending from the top to the bottom rail of the frame, a

lmember secured to the bottom rail in which the lower end of the stay'rod is threaded thereby to adjust the parallelism of the top and bottom rails by the rotation of said stay rod on its vertical axis, a head piece of noncircular outline lixedly secured on the upper end of the stay rod, a member carried by the top rail engaged by said head piece, and a locking member removably superposed on said last mentioned member, said locking member being complemental to and normally engagingthe head piece of the stay rod to hold said stay rod against undesired rotation.

3. In a heddle frame for looms comprising top and bottom rails, heddle supporting rods extending parallel to said rails, heddles slidably mounted on said rods, and means for supporting said rods at xed distances from the inner edges .of the rails, the means for maintaining the parallelism of the heddle rods comprising a stay rod extending from the top to the bottom rail of the frame,

a member secured to the upper inner edge of the bottomv rail in which the lower end of the stay rod is threaded thereby to adjust the parallelism of the top and bottom rails by the rotation of said stay rod on its vertical axis, a head piece ixedly secured on the upper end of the stay rod, a member secured to the upper outer edge of the top rail engaged by said head piece and through which the stay rod extends, and a locking member removably superposed on said last mentioned member, said locking member normally engaging the head piece of the stay rod to hold the stay rod against rotation.

4. In a heddle frame for looms comprising top and bottom rails, heddle supporting rods extending parallel to said rails, heddles slidably mounted on said rods, and means for supporting said rods at fixed distances from the inner edges of the rails, the means for maintaining the parallelism of the heddle rods comprising a stay rod extending from the top to the bottom rail of the frame, a member secured to the upper inner edge of the bottom rail in which the lower end of the stay rod is threaded, a head piece of non-circular outline iixedly secured on the upper end of the stay rod, a member secured to the upper outer edge of the top rail engaged by said head piece and through which the stay rod extends, and a locking member removably superposed on said last mentioned member, said looking member having a recess therein complemental to and normally engaging the head member of the stay rod.

5. In a heddle frame for looms comprising top and bottom rails, heddle supporting rods extending parallel -to said rails, heddles slidably mounted on said rods, and

rupper outer edge of the top rail engaged by said head piece and through which the stay rod extends, a locking member removably superposed on said last mentioned member, said locking member having a recess therein complemental to and normally engaging the head piece of the stay rod, and a reinforcing plate member through which the stay rod extends secured on the inner edge of the top rail.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,645,571 Andrews Oct. 18, 1927 1,998,358 Coddington Apr. 16, 1935 2,017,412 Kaufmann Oct. 15, 1935 2,090,110 v Cramer Aug. 17, 1937 

